Dragonfly Kisses Read Free Page A

time.
    One step at a time.
    One breath at a time.
    It made things bearable.
    Also, he’d cut back on his drinking in the past few months, increased his exercise and, to his surprise, found his depression had eased. A bit.
    He lifted his face to the sun as he ran, reveling in the surge of his pulse through his veins, the brush of wind against his cheek, the pure, clean scent of the sea air.
    Gulls wheeled overhead and, in the far distance, a white sail billowed.
    He loved this. Loved it.
    Sucking in a breath, he prepared for his last sprint. He rounded the tip of the island and pounded down the beach, making sure to stay on the wet sand at the surf line to enhance each push.
    When he was halfway to his goal, he glanced up the beach and saw her.
    How he knew— knew —it was her from such a distance, he had no clue. But he did. She was on the beach with three friends. His angel. His Cassandra.
    He hadn’t seen her since March. Was sure he’d stopped thinking about her altogether. Stopped wanting her. But apparently, he hadn’t.
    The rush of giddy elation at the sight of her frightened him. The way his heart leapt and soared, the way his pace increased, the way his feet seemed to sprout wings…
    Well, maybe not wings.
    More to the point, his legs ceased to work altogether—not unlike his brain. Somehow they tangled together and he fell—sprawled was a better word—face-first into the sand.
    He lay there, groaning, more at his own clumsiness than from any pain, though a sharp twinge screamed down his leg.
    He buried his head in his arms and cringed as he heard female cries of concern, and their footsteps thundering toward him. Mortification swamped him.
    Great.
    This was how he’d meet her? After all this time?
    Sweaty and stinky? In an ungainly tangle?
    He wanted to sink into the earth.
    But there was hardly time for self pity.
    The women were upon him.
    “Oh my heavens. Are you okay?” one of them cooed. Yeah. Cooed .
    Dylan peeped up at her. She was a cute thing with blue eyes and long blue-black hair. A tiny diamond stud winked in her nose. But she wasn’t Cassandra.
    Relief gushed through him. Oh, thank God. He must have mistaken her for—
    Oh. No. His gaze skimmed the others—a slinky platinum blonde and a pixie with a sandy bob and…Cassandra. His attention stalled on her.
    Holy hell. Up close and personal, she was even more beautiful than he’d imagined. Her skin was a creamy brown, her face like an Asian goddess. Her eyes were a delicious mocha and her lips… Ah. Her lips. A sweet, rosy red.
    He knew he was staring. He knew his mouth was agape. But he couldn’t snap out of it.
    Being in her presence—finally—stunned him.
    “Hello there.” Diamond Stud waved a hand in front of him. “Are you all right?”
    “I think maybe he’s in shock,” the pixie said with a frown.
    Platinum Blonde knelt down and brushed the sand from his cheeks. Of course, as she swept it away, it sprinkled into his mouth. The grittiness was not pleasant.
    He pulled away and tried to stand, but a scalding pain shot up his leg when he put weight on his ankle.
    Shit.
    He would have collapsed into another ignominious pile if two of the girls—Platinum Blonde and Diamond Stud—hadn’t stepped forward to catch him.
    “Whoa there, big guy,” Diamond Stud said as she steadied him. She was a tiny thing, barely came to his shoulder, but her tight grasp around his middle made up for her stature. Between the two of them, they helped him stand upright.
    He couldn’t help wishing one of them was Cassandra. He would have loved to feel her pressing herself hard against him. He shot a glance at her. Her exquisite features were puckered with concern.
    “I’m fine,” he said. Well, croaked. There was a grainy substance in his throat. He cleared it and tried again. “I’m fine. I think I turned my ankle.”
    “Ooh, we need to get you up to the house,” Diamond Stud said, turning toward the big house on the hill.
    Dylan surveyed